deceit

t h r e e

Addie was sat cross legged on her balcony, a book in one hand and a cookie in the other. She didn't mind not having her phone or laptop, she enjoyed reading, but what really annoyed her was not being able to leave the house.

But she had found a loophole - the balcony - which was why she was content sat with the wind whipping through her hair.

The gravel crunching alerted her to an oncoming vehicle, a familiar black SUV pulling up the long drive. She looked down curiously as Thomas climbed out the car, a deep set scowl on his face, Harry walking close behind.

She could hear the slamming of doors echoing throughout the house, evidence of the arguments that were taking place.

Addie saw Thomas leaving the house a few hours later, his dead ducked as though he through no one would notice, his black jacket taut across his shoulders.

Clearly Harry's attempt at grounding the 17 year old hadn't worked as he stormed out the gate and in the direction of town. It would take him a while to walk but maybe he wanted to calm down. Addie wished she had the nerve to resist her brothers grounding. 

********

The slight bang against her door made Addie jolt awake, sitting straight up in bed. She kept her lamp on as she slept, the light allowing her to make out the figures of her furniture. 

The slight bump sounded again and Addie slipped her legs over the side of the bed, her bare feet curling against the cold wood floor. She opened the door slightly peeking her head into the dark hallway. 

A figure was leant against the wall and she didn't need to have to see his facial features to know who it was. 

"Tommy?" Addie whispered to him. 

"What Addie?" He groaned. His voice was thick, like he had a cold and his shoulders were slumped over. 

When she reached to touch his arm her hand came back wet, a thick substance on his bare arm. 

"Your bleeding" She shone the torch of her phone on his face, him blinking from the glare. "What happened?"Addie gasped. 

His whole face was a mess, blood was seeping from multiple lacerations on his face, his nose covered in dried blood. A littering of red bruises were beginning to form across his face and his left eye was beginning to swell shut. 

"Did you get in another fight?" She sighed, it wasn't uncommon for him to walk around with black and blue bruises over his body, changing to a mottled green a few days later. 

"No" She knew he was lying. "What are you doing?" He questioned as if it was her who was acting strange. 

Addie grasped his arm and dragged him into his bathroom, holding his arm to help take his weight off his limping leg. She knew there was a box of bandages under his sink and so she pulled it out, looking at all the bandages and wipes. 

"Stop moving" Thomas winced every time she dabbed at the cuts and used the special glue to shut some of them, sticking large bandaids over them. 

"Don't you think that's a bit overboard" He spat some blood from his mouth into the sink. He prodded one of them slightly. "How'd you learn to do that?" 

"Murphy's foster dad used to hit him all the time. I used to bandage him up" 

"From the home?" He asked as he examined his face. 

"Yep" 

"You miss him don't you" They made eye contact through the mirror before Addie glanced away. 

"I wish I could go see him" 

"You know you can't Addie" Thomas turned around as he leant against the sink. "We can't risk any of them finding out" 

"Murphy won't tell" 

"What is someone recognises you and reports it to the police" He explained "It's a lot harder to cover up a witness than a missing foster kid file" 

Addie sighed, Harlan had already explained all this to her. He had managed to get the police to look away, she didn't know how, but he did. But now they wouldn't let her within 200 miles of the town where the group home was in case someone saw here, which meant she hadn't seen Murphy in over two years. 

"They're all better of thinking you're dead."

"I write to Murphy sometimes. He knows where I am" Addie watched Thomas' face morph into annoyance. 

"Damnit Addie" He swore. 

"Harlan let me write to him." It was true, he had given her permission to write to him after she had her surgery, and now he wasn't there to stop her regularly writing. She even sent stamps in the envelopes so he could respond - they were expensive. 

Thomas couldn't dispute that and he knew it. Harlan might not have been stood there but his law always stood. 

"Come on, you need to get to bed" She coaxed him back into the room, wincing at the bruises that covered his torso as he pulled his bloody shirt off, tossing it onto the floor. 

"Turn around"

"Why?"

"Cuz I'm changing my pants" Addie's face flushed as she spun around, that was something she didn't need to see. 

"Right" When she was sure he had finished she spun around. He climbed into bed stiffly, like an old man who had lost his cane. 

Once he was settled under the covers Addie jumped onto the bed beside him, snuggling under the warmth. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Going to sleep"

"Bloody pain in the ass" She heard him mutter as he rolled over to go to sleep, but he didn't make her leave.